Look, I am quite aware that we have a lot of issues at hand: wars, jobs and certain ecological diaster in the Gulf of Mexico. But one of the main issues in the 2008 campaign was closing Guantánamo Bay. This huge mark up on our republic's honor and reputation is still open.
Not because of President Obama, that was one of the first presidential orders he signed. It is due to the congressional Democrats not holding up their end of the bargain.
Gitmo shut-down not a priority, top Dem says
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com...
Washington (CNN) - House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer acknowledged Tuesday that closing down the Guantanamo Bay prison is not a top priority for congressional Democrats.
In response to a question from a reporter about where shutting down Gitmo stands, Hoyer said, "I think that's not an item, as you point out, of real current discussion. There's some very big issues confronting us - dealing with growing the economy and Iraq and Afghanistan."
Hoyer added, "I think you're not going to see it discussed very broadly in the near term."
That's odd, let's ask campaigning 2007 Representative Steny Hoyer what he thought about Gitmo:
White House moves one step closer to closing down Guantanamo prison camp
By Rupert Cornwell in Washington, The Independent, Saturday, 23 June 2007
http://www.independent.co.uk/...
General Colin Powell, who was the secretary of state when the first detainees arrived at Guantanamo Bay in January 2002, said on Sunday that he thought the facility should be closed and the prisoners moved to jails on the US mainland. On Capitol Hill, proposals are circulating for the prison's closure, supported not only by Democrats but also by several leading Republicans.
Guantanamo was not merely a problem but "an international disgrace that every day continues to sully this great nation's reputation", Steny Hoyer, the majority leader and the second ranking Democrat in the House of Representatives, said this week.
So I guess Rep. Steny Hoyer is okay with Guantanamo continuing to sully our republic's international reputation. The irony of his recent statement being that he is more concerned with Iraq and Afghanistan, as if Gitmo was somehow disconnected from those wars.
In fact, Gitmo is one of the leading propaganda items in terrorist recruitment. If Rep. Hoyer was serious about protecting our troops in every possible fashion, he would have the camp closed as a sign of goodwill in the lands from which we rendered the prisons for Gitmo.
Everyday Rep. Hoyer refuses to address America's Concentration Camp he is also giving the Republicans a bully stick against President Obama, undermining his credibility to get things done. A quick tour of any right wing website will see at least one reference to President Obama's promise and signature to close Gitmo, and how is the "hopey changey" working out?
Rep. Hoyer and congressional Democrat's inability to pass legislation to close Gitmo erodes faith and belief that President Obama and the Democratic Party can fulfill promises made in campaigns.
This is not some pork project we are talking about, Gitmo is against the Geneva Convention and every day it stays open our republic is an outlaw nation. I know the Democrats are busy on capital hill, but they need to get this done, even if they have to work some overtime instead of attending cocktail parties in the beltway.
And if not now, when Rep. Hoyer? What if, heaven forbid, the Democrats lose control of the House or Senate in November? Then when will Gitmo close?
People like Hoyer and Nancy Pelosi said they couldn't get it done because of the Bush Administration when the Democrats took control of Congress in 2006. So the first thing President Obama did was sign an order to finally make it so.
Make it so that we are a nation of laws and due process.
Make it so that this black mark on our collective honor becomes an unfortunate chapter in history and instead of a continuing festering wound on our dignity, and the dignity of those detained outside the rule of law.
Make it so that when President Obama says something, it actually it gets done.
Until that time, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer is not only undermining the credibility of the United States of America, but that of President Obama.
Make no mistake, President Obama wants this done, but the apathy in the congressional Democrats to address this issue leaves the doors of Gitmo open.
It is unacceptable, harms the President's agenda, and it exposes the inability of people like Hoyer to do their basic job.
We all know congressional Democrats used Gitmo as a bully stick against the Republicans through out the Bush Administration as a campaign tool. Unless these same Democrats think they can fool the "tools" of their base, they need to pass legislation to close Gitmo as promised, repeatedly, over and over again.
Before Midterms.
Not that I am foolish and will vote Republican, though my Republican representative is also for closing Gitmo. And when people like Steny Hoyer make people like Ron Paul look progressive, the Democrats in Congress need to check themselves before they wreck themselves.
Close Gitmo now and quit making the President, and the country, look foolish.